TAC TV

TAC television was founded in April 1991 by a group of United States investors lead by Gamil M. Tawfik. Established shortly after the first Gulf War in 1991, TAC offices were originally located on Exchange Place, facing the World Trade Center towers. The collapse of the buildings in 2001 destroyed the offices, along with more than $250,000 worth of equipment. TAC shut down for three days, but did not give up despite their losses.

TAC, now 14 years old, serves the Greater New York City Metropolitan area, including Jersey City, Bergen County, NJ and Mt. Vernon, NY through cable transmission and through satellite on Telstar 5, affiliated with seven major cable systems, totaling 1,125,000+ Basic Cable subscribers. TAC remains the first Arabic language television station to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the United States.

In addition to satellite feeds from 22 Middle Eastern stations, the programs broadcast on its network include TAC's own productions focusing on the concerns and needs of the Arab-American neighboring community as well as daily news. Other offerings include films, soap operas, documentaries, children's shows and cultural programs.

TAC's audience has soared from 730,000 viewers in 2001 to over a million by the end of 2003. The network has expanded in New Jersey from Jersey City to include all of Bergen County. Increasing emphasis is placed on soaps and movies that teach the history of Arab culture so as to educate and enlighten the community.

TAC has also started using English subtitles for its Arabic movies and soaps, to help viewers whose knowledge of Arabic is weak to hone their language skills. The subtitles also invite non-Arab speakers to explore an alternative view of a culture they have only heard about through the news.

TAC is currently the only private & independent Arabic TV station in the world, not under any government, group or organizational control in the Middle East.